Game Ranch Management

We departed camp on Sunday afternoon around lunch time. We were all very excited to go to a game farm. When we arrived after one and a half hours on the road the campsite that greeted us had surpassed all our expectations. An open main area with a deck that had a view of one of the watering holes was our main relaxing area. We also had all our meals there and the hunting rituals would also take place there, more on the rituals later on. At night we slept in luxurious tents that had tiled bathrooms and geysers, something Quest boys weren’t used to. We got told that we’d be split into 4 groups, each doing a different activity every day. Hunting, cyber tracking, butchery work and general lodge maintenance. We also got told that our day would start at 05:45; so everyone retired to their tents fairly early to get some rest.

Monday morning: the first working day at Rosslyn Safaris. Everyone was very excited to see what each of the activities held. There was a buzz in the atmosphere as everyone headed to the workshop where we’d go our separate ways to do our duties. Of course the Hunters where most excited and the guys doing the general lodge maintenance, the least! When we all came together again at around 17:00 everyone was pretty tired but interested to hear about the others activities so that they knew what to expect. A particular story that seemed to impress everyone involved the Hunters. It came out that Tim Rath, our German friend, had shot his first impala having never shot a rifle. However Mike Mandy, an experienced hunter, had missed. Needless to say Tim was very pleased! That evening we also discovered that hunting rituals would take place. A piece of heart, liver, the eye and testicle had been taken out of the impalas that had been shot. Each member of the hunting team would have to eat one of the above body parts. Quiet a daunting task. Tim got the eye and it took him a full six minutes to get it down his throat. You could clearly tell by his facial expression that this was not his reason for coming to Quest! For the non-hunters it was a very exciting time of day, chanting and teasing the boys that had to swallow what seemed to be a deadly poison!

The week went on and everyone was enjoying their time at the game farm. On our last day something happened that no one expected. All the hunters had missed their shots… The first question that the majority was yearning to ask was; “what are they going to eat tonight?” Luckily the professional hunter that was guiding us had kept some leftovers from previous hunts! Before that evening however, the group was asked to go help dig up some ground so that the farm could make a watering hole. We all worked hard but then a random ball of clay hit Kurt! This triggered a full on clay war! Clay was flying back and forth leaving anyone in it’s path filthy! Hardly any work had been done after the first clay ball. It was a great time and everyone created a wonderful memory that afternoon.

Our idyllic game farm trip ended on Friday. We were all very sad to leave. We had had a great time at Rosslyn Safaris and wouldn’t have minded staying in the luxurious tents for the rest of the following week. We would miss all the wildlife and the kindness we experienced from everyone that worked there. A big thanks to Ms. Juliette Johnson for allowing us to stay the week on her farm.